Hydrocephalus is most often treated by surgically inserting a shunt. The shunt diverts the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (“CSF”) from the ventricles of the brain to another area of the body where the CSF can be absorbed as part of the circulatory system. A shunt typically includes a ventricular catheter that is introduced through a burr hole in the skull and implanted in the patient's ventricle. A drainage catheter delivers the CSF to its ultimate drainage site (e.g., the peritoneum). Optionally, a valve may be used to regulate the one-way flow of CSF from the patient's ventricle to the drainage site.
To drain fluid from more than one site, a surgeon has used multiple shunts. That is, a first shunt, having its own ventricular catheter and drainage catheter, is used to drain CSF from a first site, and a second shunt, having its own ventricular catheter and drainage catheter, is used to drain CSF from a second site.
Occasionally the surgeon may have the need to drain fluid from multiple sites within the brain. If the surgeon were to modify the valve construct to drain from multiple sites with a simple Y-connector, cross draining may occur between the two sites within the brain as the CSF will travel along the path of least resistance. Thus, there is the need to provide surgeons with a device that will permit fluid to drain from multiple sites without cross draining occurring.